Mechanical Music Library International, Inc.

Q. David Bowers, Honorary Chairman
William H. Edgerton, President
Ann S. Edgerton, Secretary-Treasurer
Kevin Kline, Esq, Director
Jim Krughoff, Director
Frank Metzger, Director

PO Box 1007, Darien, CT 06820 – (203) 857-0240

Mechanical Music relates to any device or instrument for the automatic playing of music including, but not limited to, musical boxes, orchestrions, fairground and street organs, crank organs, player pianos, reproducing pianos, phonographs, automata, and stringed, wind, and percussion instruments of any kind adapted to play automatically, whether driven by hand or by mechanical or electrical sources of power. This is synonymous with the term 'Automatic Musical Instrument.' It also includes the discs, cylinders, barrels, rolls, books, disks, and other means of providing a program for these instruments.

It is the mission of the Mechanical Music Library International, Inc. to collect, preserve, and make available for reference or dissemination the following items pertaining to mechanical music and mechanical musical instruments: books, pamphlets, journals, audio tapes, video tapes, CDs, DVDs, posters, catalogs, photographs, patents, postcards, correspondence, and other ephemera.

An IRS Section 501 (c) (3) designation was granted as of June 7, 2010, thus gifts and contributions to the Library are tax deductible.

A user may make a personal visit to the Library to view certain items or to browse on a specific subject, by prior arrangement. We will also respond to specific requests and will photocopy requested items if copyright regulations permit, for a modest contribution. No Library materials may be removed from the Library except in unusual circumstances and only after a loan agreement has been signed.

Contributions of materials that do not appear in our inventory are urgently requested, and financial contributions will be used to further our activities or to add to our endowment, as the donor wishes. All contributions will be acknowledged and the name of the contributor will forever be associated with his or her contribution. It is important for contributors to know that no individual associated in any way with the Library receives any compensation. The names of prior contributors are listed here.

Library Standards, Notes, and Helpful Information:

There are intentional gaps in the numbering system.
To be described as a 'book' the item must be hard-bound, paper-bound, or have a spiral or comb binding. Stapled or loose-leaf items are filed under their specific categories.
Dates usually refer to the original publication date but if the item is a reprint, the date may be that of the reprint.
If values appear, for most items the value is the replacement cost at the time of the loan or acquisition. Books are priced at Amazon.com or Abebooks.com. Other items show typical trading mart prices.
All entries with an 'M' suffix are the property of the Musical Box Society International. There are some intentional duplicates of MBSI items and those from other sources.
Page sizes are in inches.
The ampersand sign (&) at the end of a description indicates that there are additional keywords or entries in addition to those shown.
Note: this data is published for personal use only, and if used in published research materials or journals, source credit must be given to Mechanical Music Library International, Inc. No other commercial use or copying is permitted without written permission. All Rights Reserved for this compilition of data.
For mechanical organs, the number of keys precedes the name, such as 89 Gavioli; the model number follows the name, such as Ruth 33; and multiple numbers of examples follow the name in parentheses, such as Bruder (9).

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